Offbeat News

The wierd and the wonderful goings-on from around the world.

Remix.vg is German Favourite

Remix.vg is German Favourite

All the best things in the world are loved by those in Germany: the music of David Hasselhoff was first, and now Remix.vg is a firm favourite of German hipsters. Instructions for finding the hints regarding Remix.vg’s popularity in Germany: Visit the Ahoi Werbeagentur website (German); Click on the big guy in the middle; Press [...]

The Cybraphon: Social Media Musical Instrument

The Cybraphon: Social Media Musical Instrument

The Edinburgh Festival throws up some curious spectacles from busking opera singers in corsets to clowns doing monologues in the Radisson Hotel. The most strange thing yet, however, was the Cybraphon – a musical instrument whose tune changes depending on feedback given on social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and the like. The instrument [...]

Edinburgh Raft Race 2009

Edinburgh Raft Race 2009

The 2009 Edinburgh Raft Race took place on Saturday 27th June at 11am. On a warm but rainy morning, four teams took to the waters of the Union Canal at Edinburgh Quays with only milk cartons, oil drums and ballons to keep them afloat. To the tunes of the eighties blasting out over the tannoy, [...]

Squirrels Call for Prince Charles to be Culled

Squirrels Call for Prince Charles to be Culled

Grey squirrels are urging landowners to eradicate Prince Charles to save trees from being destroyed. “The Prince is doing immense and increasing damage to hardwoods all over the country and threatens to compromise all our efforts to restore native woodlands,” the Squirrels wrote in a letter to the Country Land and Business Association (CLA). Prince [...]

Buffercopter: Dawn of a New Word

Buffercopter: Dawn of a New Word

I feel like I haven’t invented nearly enough new words recently, so today I was particularly pleased when I was watching some on demand TV online that was rudely interrupted by… a buffercopter. Buffercopter (Buf·er·cop·ter) Noun The spinning circular symbol which displays when an online streamed video is loading, or ‘buffering’; A person, thing or [...]

Scrambled Jets on Toast

Scrambled Jets on Toast

The Real Mary King's Close

The Real Mary King’s Close

Underground tours in Edinburgh. I’d been really looking forward to trying out one of the underground tours but didn’t know what to expect when the wise-cracking tour guide turned up in an old-fashioned dress.  She proceeded to take the mick for the next hour as we trudged 60 feet down into the forgotten streets of [...]

Doors Fall off Irish Minister for Tourism's Helicopter - Mid Flight!

Doors Fall off Irish Minister for Tourism’s Helicopter – Mid Flight!

You couldn’t make it up! I hate to say it, but I’m reminded of an Irish joke I once heard (are Irish jokes still Racist, or is it post-modern not to be PC? Who cares?) which goes “How do you sink an Irish Submarine? Knock on the door!” That joke wasn’t very funny, and neither [...]

Green Comet Out Tonight!

Green Comet Out Tonight!

Check out the sky tonight at midnight. Somewhere in the South near Saturn a little green cloud will be making its way across the night sky. Comet Lulin gives off a green glow and is 38 million miles away. Check it out as it passes through our solar system. You’ll need darkness and binoculars would [...]

Celebrate Safer Internet Day by Purchasing Swords Online

Celebrate Safer Internet Day by Purchasing Swords Online

Today is “Safer Internet Day 2009″ according to the Internet Watch Foundation. The day is organised by the European Commission and Insafe, the European network of e-safety awareness nodes. It focuses on risks to children online. Anyone who saw Watchdog last night will know that Ebay has changed its policy on the sale of knives [...]